Papa New Guinea..Hoax or real surf trip destination?
PNG has great waves, though it's very seasonal - and certainly not sizeable for the most part (compared to Indo, South Pacific, North Pacific etc). But it's an incredible place to visit that I'd highly recommend - everyone should try to visit it once in their lifetime.
We have a forecast for Kavieng here (don't look now, it's tiny!):
https://www.swellnet.com/reports/papua-new-guinea/new-ireland/kavieng/fo...
And Vanimo (mainland):
https://www.swellnet.com/reports/papua-new-guinea/mainland/vanimo/forecast
Thanks Ben - how accurate is your 16 days f/c if I subscribe to swellnet pro - thinking of a last minute mission...if we see a decent swell period in Jan..
Have you reconciled your f/c with the operators up there?
ps not doubting you...your f/c for Vic are spot on...just I haven't had any experience in this fickle part of the world.
cheers
The accuracy of our model depends on the region you're looking at, and the kind of weather system generating the swell.
For PNG, there would be moderate to high confidence in long range swells originating from broad E/NE trades (seasonal, anchored patterns), but less confidence in swells from dynamic systems such as tropical lows and typhoons.
Some of the best swells for (some) PNG locations are the big winter NW swells that impact Hawaii (and reach PNG from the north). Because of the extra travel distance - compared to Micronesia, for example - there's a reasonable amount of confidence in the mid-long range outlook; however those these systems are also dynamic and can move around a bit.
I'm stoked you've found the model to be very accurate for Vicco - it's been one of our primary test/verification regions and we're stoked with the output (it's always a work in progress though).
Baconeater the Explorer should maximise your chance of waves. I stayed at the Kavieng land camp last January and got nothing beyond a foot or two of short period stuff. I wasn't too bothered as it was nice to surf uncrowded waves even if they were not up to expectations. The general experience was also great. If you see a swell coming and can't get on the Explorer there are some classic looking reefs around Kavieng and you probably have a better chance of getting a spot there at the last minute. And the Swellnet forecast was, unfortunately, spot on! Good luck
Definately go for 10 days baconeater. You need the longer window to score as I reckon they only get about 2 decent swells a month IMO.
Ive been there 4 times now and scored pretty much every time. Been up to New Hanover twice and Kavieng twice. Haven't seen anything over 5ft yet tho. Having said that generally get to surf every day. Uncrowded, clean, chest to head high waves is pretty much the norm until a swell comes. If do you luck into a swell it's heaven.
The PNG explorer is a good boat. Fast enough, roomy enough and those boys been doin it for a while now. Is Andrew Rigby still running it? He'll find you waves. You'll probably end up around New Hanover at some stage - nice long left and a short barrelling right. Coupla others nearby but a bit B grade. The reefs around Kavieng really light up in a decent swell but there are a couple of small waves spots around there too. Also waves down the east coast of kavieng if you like a road trip - bit of a hoax but can get ok and is protected from the nor-wester..
Its shallow as and will cut you up pretty bad if you hit the reef - don't ride the inside section too far and definately take booties.
Harder to do the strike mission now there is no VOA
Hey There,
I'm considering a trip to PNG on the PNG Explorer this summer.
After multiple successful trips to Ments, a disastrous Maldives experiment where we scored reeling 1fters for 7 days....am I mad to chase the uncrowded dream?
Where do I get a decent forecast for this joint?
Anyone actually been and scored...or did you spend the week drinking beers and fishing?
I need a serious surfing fix....3-6ft rights for 10 days would be perfect.
But the idea of shelling out $4k+ for 10 days of island cruising and a spot of snorkelling doesn't really float my boat